The Celestial Rune Knight
by Warmachine375
Summary: Unlike most AU stories where Lucy Heartfilia always ends up joining the Fairy Tail guild at the beginning of the series, this story shows of Lucy joining the Rune Knights after some members who she had befriended at Hargeon have convinced her and finds out that they're more than just glorified policemen and stuck-up paperpushers she heard them to be as she climbs up to their ranks.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey hello there everyone! I'm Warmachine375 and I have made another Fairy Tail fanfic story "The Celestial Rune Knight". Honestly, what's wrong me? I'm supposed to be updating my other stories yet I do this, lol. I must be out of my mind! Hehehe. Anyways, I've always usually see stories of Lucy joining Fairy Tail or any other canon Guild but there's this idea of mine about what if she joins the Rune Knights instead.**

 **...Unless I'm wrong of course if it already happened.**

 **Just nitpick me if that's true. Hehehehe.**

 **After remembering how Gajeel, Levy and Pantherlily spending their one-year timeskip until Avatar arc working for the thrice-reformed Magic Council, which was now run by the Ten Wizard Saints with Draculos Hyberion as new Chairman this time, as members of the Rune Knights, I was thinking of this idea and try it out.**

 **Summary:** **Unlike most AU stories where Lucy Heartfilia always ends up joining the Fairy Tail guild at the beginning of the series, this story shows of Lucy joining the Rune Knights after some members who she had befriended at Hargeon have convinced her and finds out that they're more than just glorified policemen and stuck-up paperpushers she heard them to be as she climbs up to their ranks.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters as they belong to Hiro Mashima yours truly.**

 **Enjoy and don't forget to review. :D**

* * *

Chapter 1

 _In the port town of Hargeon, Kingdom of Fiore_

At the small fishing port town of Hargeon with a harbor in the Kingdom of Fiore where the townsfolk, fishermen, traders and tourists alike gather there as they go about their everyday lives and business of their own where normal livelihood thrives prosperously there more than Magic since there's only one Magic store just for traveling Mages passing by for items and supplies.

A young petite woman with milk chocolate brown hair that is a little longer than a shoulder length, and green eyes. She wears a blue cloak with hood, a beret, long black socks, and blue military boots alongside a uniform dress with a white collar and a short red tie, with two separate long sleeves that have two heavy metal bands and a long red strap, white gloves, and carries two giant pistols holstered at her waistlines.

Apparently she was just wandering around Hargeon for some sightseeing while also finding her friend who wandered off a bit too far and has yet to be seen.

Entering the only Magic store found in Hargeon and checking some of the antique items commonly used by Mages everywhere coming by that is called the Proper Grocer, the female Guns Mage noticed a blonde girl conversing with the elderly store owner.

She wears a tight white shirt with a blue cross motif and no sleeves where her large chest was tucked inside and bounced against the strained fabric. Along with the pleated blue skirt with a brown leather belt, a ring with a few Gold and silver keys, an actual black whip with a heart shape at its tip, black shin high boots, thin waist with a firm stomach and curved hips.

 _O-oh, she must be a C-celestial Spirit wizard. I-it's rare to see one of them around Fiore in the Council archives..._ , the milk chocolate brown-haired young girl noticed before feeling glum in depression upon noticing the woman's D-cup chest and a bombshell figure. _A-and she has big boobs…. Why me?..._

"What?!", the busty woman said with surprise to the old man, slamming her hands on the desk. "You mean to tell me there's only _one_ Magic store in this whole town?"

"'Fraid so.", the old man told her. "The people around here are more fishin' folk than Magic folk. I reckon most people in town don't even know how to use Magic. I built this shop to sell to the wizards that happen to be passing through."

"Aw man. I can't believe I came all the way here for nothing.", she said in disappointment.

"Now, now, don't say that little lady.", the Proper Grocer owner reassured as he dug behind the desk and brought out a Magic Item. "I have all the greatest goods. Let me show you. This **Colors** Magic is popular and all the young girls seem to like it. It lets you change the colors of your clothes anytime you want."

The item in question was a small pink tablet and the old man did some fiddling on the dial on the front, which a green Magic circle formed in front of him.

 **"Purple!"** , he shouted excitedly with a wave of his hand and just like that, his clothes turned purple. With another handwave, the colors of his clothes changed once again. **"Green!"**

"I already have one of those.", the blonde woman waved off the offer. "What I really wanted are some powerful Gate Keys."

 _M-me too. I already have one too as well... S-so she wants powerful Gate Keys? H-here in this town of all places?_ , the petite girl seemed to agree in her mind and was curious as she watched the large breasted teen's complexion change to one of excitement after looking at a small key.

"Oh wow! It's The Little Doggy!", she said excitedly as the Proper Grocer manager told her that the spirit summoned by the silver key in his store's possession is not strong but she didn't mind and wanted to have keep one of them as a pet. "So how much is it for the key?", she then asked.

"Twenty thousand Jewels.", the owner said as he was happy that he was able to do business with his customers.

"... I'm sorry. How much is that?", the blonde Celestial Spirit Mage asked again one more time in case she was hearing it wrong as her complexion seemed to darken ominously.

"Twenty thousand Jewels.", the store owner repeated the exact price again with the same smile.

Obviously unsatisfied and clearly desperate for a lower price to obtain a regular old silver Celestial Spirit, the busty teen tried to use her, um, assets with a sexy pose to try convince the old man to lower the cost of... just 1,000 Jewels. Apparently, this surprises the female Guns Mage that the busty teen have failed to um... persuade the old man to change his mind despite her voluptuous body.

 _Guess fate must be kind to me... Although I feel sorry for her. Maybe I can help her..._ , she thought.

"U-um… c-can I pay for that? I-I have the right amount right here.", Amber softly spoke out that surprised the two who didn't know of her presence until now as she shyly showed a big wad of Jewels on the palm of her hand.

* * *

 _Outside of the Local Magic Store Proper Grocer_

"Oh thank you so much! This means so much to me! How can I ever repay you!", the busty woman cried in thanks as she hugged her into her bosom, feeling so grateful that the Silver Gate Key of Minor Nikora has been purchases although it still annoys the former that her sex appeal and a body of a sexy model is worth a 1,000 Jewels but that didn't stop her from being grateful to someone who helped her and wanted to make friends with her.

Blushing in embarrassment and feeling the plumpness of the girl's chest, the milk chocolate brown haired girl timidly replied, "U-uh, you're welcome. I-it's nothing really. Y-you really seem to want that key and I-I thought I could help you by paying for it."

"My name is Lucy. What's your name?", the blonde teen introduced herself, extending her hand of friendship.

Taking Lucy's hand and shook it, the petite woman made her introduction too as well, "M-my name is Amber. Amber Celadon. Nice to meet you, Miss Lucy."

"Just call me Lucy. Nice to meet you too as well.", she told her before commented. "You did surprise me back there. I didn't know you were there until you spoke up to pay for the Gate key for me."

"I-I apologize for that.", Amber answered, simply bowing down to her.

"It's alright really. But thanks again.", Lucy smiled.

"Oh there you are, Amber! I've been looking everywhere for ya! Ya made me worried there, darling. I'd almost lost ya there in this outback town when we first got here.", a male voice with an accent that sounded him like a redneck that got both girls' attention as they turned out to see the man behind them.

A tall muscular mulleted man with grayish-blue eyes and long flowing white hair. He wears a yellow vest adorning the double R in capital letters on his left side, as well as tiny gray suspenders worn underneath his vest, green trousers, black boots with ribbed tips, brown gloves, as well as a gray and yellow baseball cap with the same RR logo on its front.

He seems to have always sported a confident smug smirk on his face.

"M-mr. Tyson! I'm relieved you have found me. S-sorry for making you worry!", Amber meekly apologized as she repeatedly bowed.

Chuckling in good humor, Tyson rubbed the petite girl's head after taking off her beret. "Nah, it's alright darling! Just glad you're safe and sound. And lookie here, you've made a friend while I was gone.", he said before noticing Lucy.

"Howdy there darling, I'm Tyson Hammer. Look at my trucker hat. What's yours?", he gave his proper introduction with his trucker hat showing off to see and removed his glove for a handshake.

Weirded out at first by his preferences of trucker hats, the Celestial Spirit Mage extended a hand regardless which he shook it in return. "I'm Lucy. Nice to meet you Mr. Tyson. You're a friend of Amber?", she asked curiously.

"Yup, an ol' acquaintance of mine yessiree. We were having a little job of searching a certain someone in this little ol' town here down South of Fiore. Amber here went a little side-tracked with the folks a few hours ago and got lost until I found you darling with her.", the silver-haired man replied as he put his glove back on while giving the flustered girl the noogie after taking off her beret again.

"I-it's alright, Mr. Tyson r-really! I d-didn't r-run into tr-trouble...", the girl with milk chocolate brown hair stammered which her partner smirked in response as he put her hat back on.

He commented, "Of course ya haven't, darling. You're way too nice to get into trouble unless ya draw those guns and shoot first."

 _The way they interact is he's like a cool uncle concerned over his little niece. What an odd friendship those two have..._ , Lucy thought as she watched the interaction between Tyson Hammer and Amber Celadon.

"So, want to grab something to eat?", Lucy offered to the duo who stared at her after overhearing that.

* * *

 _In a local restaurant of Hargeon_

Later on, Lucy, Amber and Tyson are at a local restaurant in Hargeon as thanks to the petite girl's generosity. From Lucy's point of view, she has to show her gratitude and return the favor. The three had gotten a small booth and are currently enjoying food and drinks ordered. Tyson simply preferred a mug of strong ale while the girls have orange drinks.

In that time earlier, it appeared that Amber and Tyson had took off their respective hats and set them down on the hat racks of the restaurant.

"Thank you for the meal.", Amber gave a small bow gratefully to her new friend.

"It's nothing really. You really helped me back there and I wanted to pay you back, so the lunch is on me.", Lucy reassured.

"Not a chance, we'll split the bill three-way. Will that suffice, darling?", Tyson offered his own wad of Jewels which Lucy seemed to agree as she won't disregard him, considering it rude towards the gentleman if she had done so.

"I may not look like it but I'm a wizard myself.", the Celestial Spirit Mage said.

Amber noted, "I-isn't that obvious, Lucy? Y-you have those Celestial Gate Keys yourself. I-I'm a Guns wizard and M-mr. Tyson here has a form of Burst Magic. We are both wizards."

"Oh I see although I'm not a member of a Guild yet.", Lucy stated as she began to talk about the description of Guilds and dreamed of joining one that she feels insecure one which she should join, considering the popular Guilds dotting all around Fiore, making it hard for her to make a choice and yet she must do so to fulfill her dreams and ambitions as a Legal Mage.

She then added, "There's this only one place where many great wizards gather; that the Guild I want to get into! I hope I'm cut out for this and maybe that Guild won't be that strict."

"Huh, is that so, darling? To be honest, every Guild in this country are strict in their own way with those rules and regulations for all members to follow and abide. If ya gotta be a member of your dream Guild, you have to follow their lead and work your way to the top of the food chain. It's a meritocracy after all.", Tyson commented as he chugged on his ale mug.

"I suppose you're right...", the blonde busty girl seemed to agree.

"I-it's alright, Lucy. I-I'm sure you can get in. I-I know of it.", Amber supported which her friend's spirits appeared to have lighten up a little.

"By the way, Amber and Mr. Tyson, you said you were looking for someone, right?", Lucy asked after she remembered about the duo talking about searching for someone in their first meeting.

"H-have you s-seen this man, L-lucy?", Amber asked as she showed the wanted poster with a headshot of a somewhat attractive male who has dark blue hair swept over the side of his face with a pointed chin and a small tattoo over the right eyebrow.

"Er... who?", the blonde teen tilted her head in confusion.

"His name is Bora the Prominence, darling. Ex-member of Titan's Nose, one of the Legal Guilds in Fiore you saw from those Sorcerer Weekly issues. Amber and I took this job and have been looking for him recently. Did ya happen to see him anywhere in town?", the middle-aged man with silver hair explained.

Looking at the man's face on the wanted poster again, Lucy shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't see him. But if he is here in town, I'll tell you."

"Thanks. Worth a shot asking for, darling. That sleazebag is evasive alright. Looking for him around Hargeon is like searching a needle in a haystack.", Tyson sighed with Amber agreeing with him.

"Do not mind me asking but are you and Amber a part of a Guild?", the Celestial Spirit Mage asked.

"W-we are not affiliated with a Guild, Lucy. Mr. Tyson and I are more like Independent wizards with a job contract with the government. J-just think of us as bounty hunters with a government license.", Amber explained.

Lucy's eyes bulged out as she exclaimed in surprise, "You two are bounty hunters?!"

"Oww! What a pair of lungs ya got there and it's hurts my ears, darling!", Tyson winced a little which Lucy quickly apologized for her mistake. "Like Amber said, we are Independent wizards who aren't a part of any Guild but are licensed by the Council to do their jobs for them in exchange for rewards from the higher ups. Such as taking down rogue wizards and Dark Guilds that not even the Legals can do it themselves. We gotta pay for a living ya know."

"I see... No offense but Amber doesn't look like a bounty hunter from the looks of it.", the blonde teen noted.

"I'd tip my hat to you that, blondie. Amber here may be the most timid and nicest girl you've ever met but when she brings out those big damn guns of hers and gets mighty serious, _your ass is grass_.", Tyson commented with a confident smirk which the brunette girl blushed in embarrassment.

"M-mr. Tyson!", Amber pouted at the older man who simply gave her a noogie again.

Lucy stared at Amber in disbelief after hearing what Tyson just said about her other side when her guns are drawn supposedly. _She looked so harmless and innocent that she won't harm a fly. Then again, appearances can be deceiving._

"Well, better keep looking then. I just saw that fancy looking yacht nearby the shore and got me all mighty interested before you invited me and Amber for lunch. Might as well check it out. See ya around, darlings.", Tyson said while finished his ale mug as he tipped his trucker hat after taking it from the hat rack and walked away, leaving the two girls alone in the restaurant.

* * *

 _In the outskirts of Hargeon_

After Lucy and Amber finished their meal and exited the restaurant, they were sitting on the bench nearby and chatted amicably as the former bought herself a Sorcerer Weekly magazine that contains the latest headline about Fairy Tail's recent defeat of the Devon Thief Family and the destruction of several buildings of the Tuly Village including the old historic clock tower.

 _O-oh so that's the dream Guild Lucy wants to join... Fairy Tail, the #1 headache of the Council, famously known for its countless destruction and recklessness of its members. The Council has spent_ millions _of Jewels to rebuild and compensate the damages done and yet this Guild kept doing it without any care at all._.., she realized in thought while listening to Lucy showing her the cover photo of a beautiful and busty young woman with long silvery hair and wearing a white bikini whose name is Mirajane the main attraction of Fairy Tail.

 _Fate must be cruel to me..._ , she mentally cried at Mirajane's breasts.

"Hey, Amber! This is the Guild I wanted to join: Fairy Tail!", the Celestial Spirit Mage showed her the Sorcerer Magazine.

"I-I see. I-I heard about that Guild, Lucy. Th-they have an infamous reputation of destroying everywhere whenever they go in Jobs and an annoyance of the Magic Council and they are a reckless group of wizards.", Amber noted.

"Yup, this is the Guild I wanted to join, Amber. Since I was a kid, a woman in a bunny suit saved me from a carriage accident and she had this mark of Fairy Tail in her right hand. I didn't get to meet her or even get to say thank you. But I admired Fairy Tail and wanted to join in.", Lucy explained her reasons of wanting to join the infamous Guild in Fiore.

 _I see..._ , the petite girl thought.

"Hey, Amber. Will you and Mr. Tyson join Fairy Tail? I thought that once you two join, you might become full-fledged wizards in a proper Guild.", she asked.

Feeling doubtful and knows she already has a job, the female Guns Mage sighed, "I-I don't know, Lucy. Being in a Guild does not suit well with me and Mr. Tyson since we work best as Independent wizards for quite a long time."

"Trust me, you and Mr. Tyson will fit well in Fairy Tail!", Lucy reassured.

"I hope not...", she muttered in a whisper that not even Lucy can hear her.

A growing noise of fangirling shouting was heard in a distance away which cut off any further attempts between Lucy and Amber of chatting each other as dozens of women are seen screaming loudly like lunatics in a mass hysteria had caused both female Mages to turn and stare at the large throng of them that were clustered a few yards away.

They are all swooning like hormonal school girls meeting their favorite band of hot men in person who just came by in town. Lucy screamed out in excitement of some guy called the _Salamander_ whose Fire Magic cannot simply be bought from Magic stores and apparently he's here in Hargeon Town of all places as she joined in the crowd to take a better look at him while Amber followed her and realized who's their so-called mysterious celebrity is.

It was the very same person Amber and Tyson was looking for, and he was standing right there in his flamboyant clothing while soaking up the attention towards him like a sponge and sticks out like a giant sore thumb desperate for attention through Magical charms he subtly waved around during his poses and cool guy look he flashed around.

Recognizing the Charm Magic which was banned by the Council and is currently used by this Salamander to make innocent girls to fall under his control with hearts on their eyes including Lucy too as well who tried to resist it to no avail, Amber lost her timid nature the moment she drew out her weapons and fired a trajectory round right into the man's face.

 _Found you, you bastard. Mission start. Mukuro and Makoto are ready for action!_ , she said in her mind with her eyes already hardened, never lowering down her raised weapon after sending him flying by her blunt headshot.

The loud gunshot caused by Amber's Magic Guns had caught Tyson Hammer's attention and simply smirked in confidence, knowing the target they've looking for this whole time has been located and engaged. In the meantime for him, he had found the yacht he was looking for earlier as he casually strolled inside that surprised the thugs of his presence.

"Howdy there boys? Ready for some asswhooping? 'Cuz the Chief here is gonna shove his mighty fist right up your ass!", he rhetorically asked while cracking his gloved knuckles towards them.

Almost immediately back to the scene, the group of fangirls and Lucy had snapped out of "Salamander's" Charm like they woke up from a lucid dream and saw the man flying a few feet away after being shot in the face by the female Guns Mage.

"What the?"

"Ohh my head..."

"Why are we doing here?"

"And who's the weirdo?"

"Bora the Prominence. Former member of Titan's Nose. Kicked out of the Legal Guild because you chose to commit crimes with Magic and disobeying the law. Now you make a living by tricking women into your hands for unlawful purposes by impersonating an infamous member of Fairy Tail..., Amber said out loud in identifying the man she was looking for.

"What the hell?! You have no idea what you're talking about, kid! Who is this Bora guy?! Do you know who I am! You are in huge trouble on your head by attacking me! The Great Salamander of Fairy Tail!", the blue-haired man shouted indignantly at the female Guns Mage who just shot him in the head by the blunt side.

Through a blue Magic circle summoned on her feet and her cloak flew off her shoulders, Amber changed out her outfit into an military officer's uniform that is revealed to have the colors of the Magic Council with the beret having the ankh symbol on it.

Nobody was ignorant enough to know that anyone from the ruling organization of the Magic World wear such colors that shows their affiliation and status with them as the reaction of the group of girls and some bystanders would attest to that.

 _What?! Amber's a Rune Knight?! A member of the Magic Council?! She's not like any other Rune Knight I've saw them in groups. And her demeanor has changed? From a shy yet kind girl to a focused and serious woman... I can see why Mr. Tyson said something about her earlier..._ , Lucy thought after watching the same person is now pointing one of her Magic guns at the man who claimed to be the famous Salamander which he's obviously not.

Ignoring the "Salamander's" outburst, the brunette with a beret continued, "You are wanted for abduction of innocent women, impersonating a member of a popular Legal Guild to aid said abductions, using illegal forms of Magic such as Charm to make kidnappings easier, and for being an important member of a country-wide slave and sex trade operation with Bosco!"

Everyone gasped in horror and disgust after hearing that from the petite woman in military-style Rune Knight attire. Even Lucy who has no idea that something so foul could happen in a peaceful port such as Hargeon and much to her shame, she had fallen into his Charm's allure without any sort of a fight.

"Eww.. what a creep."

"Loser."

"Can't believe we fell for that!"

"Disgusting..."

"He wasn't that handsome anyways"

The women who were once under the Charm spell started to back away from Bora as far away from him in a safe distance as if he was some sort of a contagious disease and they don't want to be near him anymore, not after what he had done to them and they didn't like it one bit at all.

 **"Prominence Typhoon!"** , the 'Salamander' shouted out after he summoned his purple Magic Seal in front of him with his arms stretched wide open which sends a spiraling column of purple fire towards Amber after he was exposed for a fraud and slaver he is in front of everyone in Hargeon.

In response to the criminal's attack towards her, Amber sidestepped of the way, evading the spell as she disappeared and then reappeared in front of the fake Salamander and she fired both her Magic guns in retaliation, directly hitting Bora in the chest and such a force slammed him into a nearby building. While Lucy and the other girls had the sense of taking cover or mostly run away from the fight between Mages that has already started.

Bora got up again and tried to fight back only to get a swift bone-cracking roundhouse kick to the face and another round of gunshot from Amber, sending him flying again that end up damaging the surrounding area. He could not believe it himself as the petite girl with guns was faster despite the heavy-looking weapons she carried on her hands.

Retaliating in response, the rogue Mage/slaver summoned another Magic circle and attacked with a flurry of purple fire bullets. **"Red Shower!"**

The female Rune Knight rapidly fired her guns at the Magical projectiles and jumped out of the way from the remaining attacks from Bora that she couldn't manage to shoot them down this time. Reappearing behind the false Salamander, she attacked him with a dropkick and another roundhouse spinning kick as a combo and once again sent him crashing at the nearby building, destroying it in the process.

"AAAAH! That freaking hurt! Who the hell are you, woman?!", Bora shouted in pain, clutching his wounds inflicted upon him after emerging from the debris as he watched the petite female Rune Knight approaching him.

"I am Colonel Amber Celadon of the Rune Knights. And you are under arrest for human slave trafficking, using illegal Charm Magic and impersonating a member of a Legal Guild.", she simply declared while reloading her Magic Guns Mukuro and Makoto.

Meanwhile, a familiar sight of a certain spiky hair had excitedly pushed through the crowd, only to frown in disappointment at the discovery of people standing in the circle with a female Rune Knight pointing her weapons at the blue-haired sleazebag. _She kinda reminds me of Bisca with her guns and all..._ , he thought.

Apparently he was here on Hargeon to search for a Dragon. However there wasn't any Dragon which is his adopted father Igneel he was looking for and plus it doesn't make any real sense of why would a reptilian creature of immeasurable power that once dominated the world would be here in the first place. It was nothing but a bust and another wild goose chase. The information of _a Salamander sighting at Hargeon_ that Krov had given him was a fake and he is so gonna beat that buck-teeth guy up senseless when he gets back to the Guildhall in Magnolia as the dejected pinkette turned and walked away to keep trying and search more with the blue talking cat who flies in angelic wings beside him.

In most alternate universes and perhaps in another time, Natsu Dragneel the true Salamander of Fairy Tail would have inevitably bumped into Lucy and from there, it would eventually lead the blonde Celestial Spirit Mage's induction into Fiore's strongest Guild. But... it seems that Lucy had missed her chance at meeting and interacting with the Dragon Slayer the moment she made friends with Amber, a timid and nice petite girl who had revealed herself as a Rune Knight.

Knowing better than to fight a member of the Rune Knights just because he wanted to see how strong the petite girl was that will get him into huge trouble with Makarov and/or Erza when word gets out from the Council if he had done so, Natsu resisted the urge to join the fight and left the scene without incident.

Feeling the urge to make a run for it as fast as he can and get back to his yacht so they can bail out while they can before the rest of the Rune Knights get here, Bora summoned a purple Magic circle on his feet that generates a small blaze of fire from the ground that takes shape of a flying-carpet, hightailing out of here. **"Red Carpet!"**

"Oh no, he's getting away!", one of the girls freed from Bora's Charm exclaimed.

Lucy turned to Amber who simply remained stoic yet focused and didn't fire her Magic guns as she that made the former confused. _Why hasn't Amber fired her guns to get him? Is she letting him get away?_

Then the Colonel raised one of her guns and fired what it appears to be a signal flare into the sky unnoticed by a fleeing Bora, and rushed straight towards the docks which the Celestial Spirit Mage decided to follow and see what happens.

As Bora flew on his way back to the yacht on his Red Carpet, he panicked in thought with a lot of sweatdrops on his forehead. _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! The Rune Knights are after my ass and have tracked me all the way here in Hargeon?! I thought I had my tracks covered! That brown-haired chick ain't no regular Rune Knight. She's a Rune Knight officer! No matter, we still have some dozen girls on my ship to make a profit at Bosco! Then I-GAHHH!_

Suddenly, a thin but strong beam of pure red Magical energy fired at the blue-haired man's direction and struck him in the back that dissipated the Red Carpet spell and injured him badly, sending him crashing down on the waters from the nearby shores hard. Briefly stuck his head on the sands of the beach, Bora freed himself and spat some sand in his mouth indignantly.

"What the hell just happened?! And what just hit me?! It can't be that crazy gun chick! I was way out of her firing ran-", he gave a tantrum before sensing a presence on top of him.

"Nu-uh-uh! Where do ya think you're going, son? It's kinda rude of ya to leave the darlings hanging if ya bail out of them like a sissy cowboy running away from a massive bull stampede.", a familiar voice of a redneck called out which got the attention of the former Titan's Nose Mage.

After managing to catch up to the criminal who made a crash landing on the beach, Amber who simply smiled at knowing he had done his task while Lucy, who followed the female Rune Knight, was surprised to see a familiar guy she just met a while ago.

Turning to the one who shot down the fake Salamander, Bora saw a tall muscular mulleted man with grayish-blue eyes and white hair in the same outfit but this time with the colors of the Council just how Amber did in her first reveal as he is apparently floating in the air without any form of wings and had his finger extended with a small red glow on the tip, revealing he was the guy who shot him down.

 _Wait, is that Mr. Tyson Hammer!? And he's a Rune Knight too! Just like Amber too..._ , the blonde Mage thought in surprise that he is also a member of the Council too as well, watching him floating in the air and wearing the colors of the Magic World ruling organization.

"It seems that you've completed the task by yourself, Major General. Did you get it all, sir?", the female Rune Knight asked her comrade out loud respectively while remained a focused eye on Bora reeling from the blow he received from the middle-aged Rune Knight.

Tipping his trucker hat to Amber, Tyson replied, "Yup, darling. Got everything from that fancy yacht I managed to track down after taking out the goons and freeing the girls. All details, contacts and information linked to slave trade operations are with me. I already contacted our pals from the Custody Enforcement Unit including the Naval Unit to get their asses down here to handle the rest and wrap this up so we can go home. Don't wanna have some destructive Guild wizard end up picking a fight with this fella over here and destroy the town for pissing him off or taking his girl. Vigilantism is a big no-no in the Council's eyes."

"Very well then, sir. I'll secure the hostages you rescued and detain Bora's men still unconscious . He's all yours. Lucy, come with me.", Amber told him as she left to finish the job which the blonde reluctantly joined in to help.

"No need to tell me twice.", Tyson stated with his arms folded.

Meanwhile, Natsu sneezed for some reason and wonder who talked behind his back before ultimately deciding it was Krov snickering for giving the false rumor and he will definitely kick his ass after getting back to Magnolia. Before that happened earlier, the pink-haired teenage boy did get all googly-eyed though when he saw a tall silver-haired man in a different-looking Rune Knight officer uniform floating in the sky after he shot down some blue-haired weirdo into the sea with his finger that shoots Magic blasts.

 _That guy must be pretty strong! I wanna fight him. But he's a member of the Council and I'd be arrested for attacking him. Gramps and Erza will kill me if they find out I want to fight him! Maybe next time._ , the pinkette young man lamented as he decided to make himself scarce and leave town.

Happy was surprised the said man can apparently fly without wings and wanted to ask him how he did that. But as Natsu's sidekick, he had to stick with his best friend/adopted father no matter what and followed him in leaving Hargeon and on their way back to the guildhall of Fairy Tail. Perhaps if they meet again by any chance, the flying talking cat can do that.

"W-wh-who are you?!", Bora shouted indignantly at the flying man who shot him down.

"Mighty kind of you to ask, son. I'm Major General Tyson Hammer of the Rune Knights. And you're under arrest for human slave trafficking, using the banned Charm Magic and impersonating a member of a Legal Guild. Sucks to be a rogue wizard huh, boy?", the silver-haired muscular older man smugly replied with his arms folded and showing off his favorite hat that is now had the Council ankh symbol on it.

 _Another Rune Knight officer?! Man, I'm so unlucky! Did my operations cause enough attention by the Council to send in a Rune Knight elite after me?!_ , Bora grimaced in terror that there is another high-ranking Rune Knight here in Hargeon. Glancing at where his yacht is located, it was a mess and appeared incapable of sea-faring anytime soon.

Lots of his men were unconscious and piled up like a sack of wheat on the ground or hanging on the rails of the damaged ship. It's obvious that they did not stand a chance against Tyson while the other kidnapped women were in a safe distance away from his ship with Colonel Amber and Lucy seen checking up on them if they're alright, clearly this was Tyson's early handiwork no doubt.

Left with no choice but to go down swinging or at least distract the two Rune Knight officers so he can get away and rebuild another day, Bora summoned forth his Magic Seal by raising his left hand from which a number of fierce, purple flames in the form of elongated circles are fired at his floating enemy Tyson Hammer in a scattered formation, targeting a mildly wide area.

 **"Red Shower!"** , he shouted in an almost fearful tone as if throwing away his rationality in a hysteria.

Still displaying his smug smirk, the Major General simply raised his gloved hand and absorbed the Magical projectile's energy before firing rapid red energy blasts with his own Magic seal towards Bora that engulfed him a huge explosion.

Then the smoke subsided to reveal the ex-Titan's Nose Mage to be in his Red Carpet once again to fly in the air.

 **"Red Skull!"** , Bora conjures up a large sphere of fire made of a stylized cartoonish skull in his stretched up hands and then throws it at the Major General.

 **"T.H. Deadly Bomber!"** , the silver-haired Rune Knight shouted as he generates a red ball of spiraling energy with a magenta yolk inside it through his hands put together and threw it towards the rogue Mage-turned-slaver's ball of fire.

The two Magical ball attacks collided and caused a large explosion that nearly rocked the town of Hargeon and the sea nearby that can be seen by the approaching Rune Knights of the Custody Enforcement Unit and the battleships of the Naval Division.

Nearly losing balance in the air, Bora recomposes himself and continuously attacked with rapid fire bullets at the Major General who easily dodged them all while retaining his confident smirk on his face that irritates the former so much that he's been looked down on.

 **"Hell Prominence!"** , the fake Salamander summoned forth his Magic Seal again by placing his arms before him, and building up purple energy in front of it. Such energy is subsequently released into a large, long and powerful laser-like beam towards Tyson Hammer.

In response of such destructive Magical attack aimed at him, Tyson raised his left muscular arm and, with a mighty swing, deflected it away from Hargeon, saving it from being caught in its blast range.

The deflected beam was directed to an uninhabited area in a very large explosion before him, even a place as large as a town.

"Take this! **Prominence Whip!** ", Bora attacked again as he summons forth his Magic Seal in front of him with an arched movement of his right arm and from it, a number of fiery, curved purple beams are fired towards his target, with each beam tracking them down and moving to strike them separately from the others.

Tyson then easily dodged by flying down low, sidestepping left and right and regained his footing in the sky. Unfortunately however,... his trucker hat flew off from his head and became a victim of the ex-Titan's Nose Mage's attack as it shredded and burned away to nothing in front of the middle-aged man when it exploded like purple fireworks.

"MY TRUCKER HAT!", Tyson shouted angrily at his favorite accessory's demise before quickly dashing over Bora and grabbed his right leg before he even try to fly away, dissipating his purple flames once again.

"Ya plum-done-gone-dad-gum did it now, son!", the Council redneck smirked, ready to bring a world of pain on the criminal he had easily caught in the leg.

"Who in the whaaaa!", the former Titan's Nose Mage was confused of the Major General's choice of vernacular words and was then tackled down into the waters of Hargeon Town.

Within the depths, Bora was completely defenseless as Tyson assaulted him with tough punches on the face and right in the gut above the belt although such blows were slowed down by the sea yet they still hurt like a bitch regardless. The fake Salamander couldn't even use his Fire Magic while in the water and his blackened and swollen eyes widened when the silver-haired Rune Knight put both hands together and created a big red orb with a concentrated yolk then launched it right at his stomach.

This resulted a huge explosion shockwave of red energy that almost caused a tidal wave and Bora was sent flying right towards the beach, with his body and clothes almost charred and tattered. Suddenly, Tyson appeared from the back and gave a hard roundhouse kick right in the false Salamander's back that sent him crashing down into the ground, causing an earth-shattering explosion that nearly rocked Hargeon.

When the smoke and dust clears, Bora was heavily injured with broken bones and bruises as the result of the impact. He then tried to get up and make a run for it but he gets glowing finger beam of red Magical energy right up on his face by the Major General himself who appeared as if by teleporting.

"You are under arrest, Bora the Prominence as I repeat again. You have the right to remain silent and anything you say will be used against you and if you resist...", Tyson coldly said before charging up his finger beam almost close to Bora's head to show he was dead serious. "... you will be taken down with extreme prejudice."

Wetting literally in his pants that he cannot hope to win against one of the two Rune Knights who are lot different that stands them out from the rest of the regular soldiers of the Council he and his gang usually avoided including experiences the display of power they had, Bora weakly raised his arms in a stuttering fearful tone. "I-I-I surrender... I'll like to go to jail now. Please."

Tyson smirked while witnessing Bora's surrender as he remained floating in the air and fired his finger beam that shaved off the latter's hair and his consciousness blacked out, "Smart choice, boy. And that was for my trucker hat."

* * *

 _Few hours later at the shoreline of Hargeon_

In the aftermath of Bora's short scuffle with Major General Tyson Hammer and Colonel Amber Celadon that ended in his immediate surrender after a short curbstomp on him, the Rune Knights of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit and the Naval Division had arrived on time to secure Hargeon and tie up some loose ends as squads of Regulars are seen patrolling around the port town.

Bora, who is currently encased by Magic Sealing Stone handcuffs, was under heavy guard and ready to be escorted to Era or probably the Fiore's Council branch, to be tried for his crimes and will then be sentenced behind bars by the Magic Council. He was crying that his hair is forever ruined by Tyson's recent shave as revenge for destroying his trucker hat.

The thugs under Bora's service were easily apprehended or surrendered without much of a fight after they regained consciousness and the kidnapped women inside the slaver's ship who were kept inside the yacht against their will were taken into custody for medical checkup, interviewed of their identities and where they came from so before they can be escorted in order to ensure they were returned back home safe and sound.

And the rogue Mage's private yacht was under custody and surrounded by five battleships of the Council belonging to the Naval Division of the Rune Knights.

On the beach side of Hargeon, there was a temporary military camp set up by the Rune Knights in their investigation and clean up operations at Hargeon where Major General Tyson was seen sitting on a crate and a Rune Knight officer standing with two Regulars wielding Magic staves, who are his escorts, before him.

"I've got to say, Major General Tyson. Despite some _few_ collateral damages outside Hargeon, you and Colonel Amber have succeeded in locating and apprehending the criminal Bora the Prominence and put an end to his slave trade operations. We have all the evidence and testimonies needed to put away the rogue wizard behind bars.", the Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit commented as he oversaw the operation that went smoothly.

He is a slim man of average height with long, tied up black hair; two bangs frame his face and an unruly tuft covers his forehead, though his lavender eyes are still visible behind his circular lensed glasses. He wears a long, blue jacket with pink edges and strapped cuffs over a high-collared shirt bearing the Council's signature ankh-like symbol. His attire also features white pants held up by a simple belt, white gloves, a white cape held closed by a gem-decorated buckle, and distinctive shoes, seemingly bearing a serpentine pattern.

Wiping his face off with a towel and changing out his wet clothes into his another proper Rune Knight uniform in pristine condition through Requip with a new trucker hat in replacement of his old one, the silver-haired Rune Knight officer shrugged off, "No problem there, Captain Lahar. Tis nothing but a job plum-well done. A rogue wizard got exposed and apprehended, his goons and ship are neutralized and the kidnapped girls will be sent home after they're given a clean bill of health."

"At least it's better than some wizard playing vigilante or taking a Job request recklessly. Last thing we need is a Fairy Tail member ending up destroying the whole town to the ground especially if it's the _real_ Salamander who may not be amused of Bora's impersonation of his identity and membership of his Guild.", Lahar said as he lightly scratched his head.

"True, he coulda been arrested for poking his nose in Rune Knight affairs and obstruction of justice plus with unnecessary collateral damage. Glad that didn't happen.", Tyson added, agreeing with Lahar.

Somewhere in the streets of the town, Natsu sneezed indignantly and wondered if someone talked behind his back before decided to shrug it off and focus on getting out of Hargeon as fast as he can with Happy, believing the Rune Knights might be after him even though he hadn't done anything to guarantee their attention towards him.

To him, it's better safe than sorry.

A sultry female voice called out that got the men's attention, "If that's the case, I could have just used my Brine Magic to quell the flames and brimstone should the real Salamander actually showed up and end up wrecking the town after beating up his impostor. Then again, hot-headed men are not my type after all. Fufufufu."

A woman barely in her thirties who was looking slender and very beautiful with her eyelashes flickering to reveal her sea-green eyes and lipstick, including her fingernails too as well. Her earrings were also sea-green and has her tiara. Her light brown hair had all the bangs off to her right side, with the rest waving down to her waist. She wears a blue Rune Knight uniform that hugged her curves and cleavage with long sleeves and translucent net-like frills in the end, and a long skirt that revealed her left thigh, and has slender blue boots that went up to her mid-thighs and were edged in white, and has a sea-green pendant holding her translucent white cape that has the ankh symbol of the Council together along with a bridal veil that was slicked back behind her head.

From the looks of it, she can be seen as a bride on her wedding day with the sea as the setting of her marriage with a man deserving of her beauty and character.

"Division Commander Stella. The Sea Bride herself, nice to meet you in person, ma'am.", Tyson Hammer made a proper greeting towards the older female Rune Knight as he stood in attention and removed his trucker hat with a salute after recognizing her.

Lahar did the same thing and formally bowed to the commanding officer of the Naval Division of the Council, who is known to be a force of nature to be reckoned with in the seas as her domain.

"At ease, Major General and you too as well Captain. You both are such gentlemen. Humble men like you two these days are very scarce. Unfortunately I'm already married with my husband Justin.", Stella giggled as she held up her fingers right up her chin, clearly amused of Tyson and Lahar's proper greeting towards her.

"A pleasure, ma'am. Just paying our respects to a lovely darling such as you. Bet Captain Lahar here should loosen up a little and not getting too worked up in his job. He won't get a girlfriend if he keeps that up.", the middle-aged man with silver hair mused with a hearty laugh as he put his cap back on while his younger colleague simply rolled his eyes.

"We really need to work on your way of doing things, Major General. When you signed up in the Rune Knights, we have strict military protocol and uniform code to uphold, and we have to set a proper example example to the public and an inspiration for the wizards to follow and join our ranks as law-abiding enforcers and defenders of justice.", Lahar lamented as he knew the elite members of the Rune Knights are a bunch of odd colorful folks in the military organization of the Council.

Those said folks in the elites started to wear different kinds of unique clothing, accessory and armor of their liking instead of the standard uniform just they can stand out from the typical rank and file of the Rune Knights. Almost way too similar with the Guild Mages who are usually seen and revered as popular celebrities all but in name by the people.

It became a new trend recently thanks to them and the higher-ups of the Council simply decided to just roll with it if it means of maintaining public trust and support in them for the safety, security and order of the Magic World from what Lahar had heard from his colleagues. From his own perspective, it is considered improper and informal for a self-respecting law enforcer such as him.

"Captain, you can't fix what it ain't broke. Besides, high-ranking elites like me, ma'am and Colonel Amber for example can get to wear whatever we like so long we get the job plum-done-right. And aren't we already an inspiration to the public already? I mean look at the Colonel and her new fans right over there.", Tyson simply shrugged and pointed out for Lahar and Stella at his direction.

They saw a flustered and embarrassed Colonel Amber being swarmed by the girls who praised her for being so cool and exposing Bora for a desperate loser who used his Charms on them before it was too late and end up as his slaves. Then Lucy was seen keeping a respectable distance and felt sorry for her new friend's position of being their new idol with a mild sweatdrop.

"You're so cool!"

"You saved us there! You're our hero!"

"Girl power for the win!"

"Can we join the Rune Knights eventually?"

"Um, can we give Amber some space please?...", Lucy pleaded.

"Hmm... I see to notice one of the girls didn't go fangirling over Colonel Amber and seemed to be concerned of her being surrounded by new admirers. Who is she?", Stella wondered out loud.

"The darling's name is Lucy. She has Celestial Spirit Magic. Colonel Amber met and befriended her in Hargeon before locating and apprehending Bora. You do know the Colonel is always a nice girl who makes friends left and right, and helps people in need.", the Major General answered.

"I see. Lieutenant General Phelia often commented this was her subordinate's habit whenever she's on an assigned mission or off-duty. At least until she draws her Magic guns Mukuro and Makoto.", Lahar noted.

"A habit that brought good public faith and trust in the Rune Knights and inspired some more wizards to join our ranks thanks to her. Colonel Amber is like the heart of the Rune Knights others would call her that.", the Division Commander pointed out.

"Has she interfered in the Rune Knight business?", Lahar asked as he watched the scene.

"Nope, son. She didn't. Just a witness and a would-be victim if Colonel Amber hadn't acted quickly upon encountering Bora in person. Although she did volunteer in helping the Colonel out while I gave the fake Salamander the asswhooping. But she does have potential and not the type to back down without a fight if she has to.", Tyson stated.

"Oh well, I better get going, boys. I don't wanna be late for dinner and my beloved Justin will be hungry when he gets home from duty in the Fiore Royal Navy. And by the way Major General, Lieutenant Generals Peshkatz Fireman and Phelia Blendy wanted the reports of the mission success in Hargeon once you and Colonel Amber return to Era.", Stella reminded.

"Right, just tell Lieutenant General Fireman that I'll be heading back to Era pronto for my report of the mission success. I'll tell Amber the same for Lieutenant General Blendy. See ya later!", Tyson told his fellow Rune Knight officer who simply smiled and left to meet up with the rest of the Rune Knights with Lahar following suit, wrapping up the case.

"Oh, give my regards to Captains Venta Gloyne and Tracy McMillon from the 5th and 2nd Custody Enforcement Units, son! Also tell them they owe Colonel Amber some real quality girl time they promised her earlier together off-duty!", he then mischievously reminded the glasses-wearing Rune Knight who just rolled his eyes again and accepted.

Noticing Colonel Amber and Lucy approaching him while the rest of their colleagues eventually packing up, the trucker hat wearing Rune Knight officer said, "I'd take you want some answers from all this, right darling?"

"Uh.. yeah... Um... What are Rune Knight officers like you two doing here in Hargeon? No offense but I want to know what's really going here.", Lucy asked Amber and Tyson her new friends who are revealed to be members of the Council's military.

The Colonel explained in a serious manner this time without her guns drawn as she sighed, "Truthfully, I was on an undercover mission with Major General Tyson, Lucy. Bora and his gang of thugs have been eluding the law and covered their tracks of their operations for months ever since he had been kicked out of Titan's Nose. It has gotten so bad when an enraged and worried husband had pleaded a case of his missing wife who was last seen taken to the rogue wizard-turned-slaver's yacht after being enamored at Bora out of nowhere, followed by long line of people who also lost their girls too as well that the Council had to commission an operation to put an end to his activities with the recent mission success."

"So everything you told me was all undercover?", Lucy asked, feeling a bit hurt that she may been lied to the whole time.

"Not everything, darling. Just the part being Independent wizards under employ of the Council was undercover. Amber is really a nice girl and she helped you with your little problem at the local Magic shop she told me a while ago. She has this habit of helping and befriending people, and never turned down the chance of helping the public wherever she goes. As for me, I'm known in the Rune Knights as beefy as I go without overdoing it.", Tyson said with his arms folded.

"I see...", the blonde girl seemed to be in relief. "From what I've heard about the Rune Knights, they weren't exactly the hottest scoop in Sorcerer Weekly and I heard from other wizards they're just glorified police officers and paper-pushers of the Council acting high and mighty without doing anything much until now recently. Um, no offense again."

"Blondie, don't believe everything you hear and see from Sorcerer Weekly and gossips from shallow-minded dumbasses everywhere. We are just doing our jobs to ensure the safety and security of Fiore and the people who eat, sleep, breath and go about their daily lives without any care of the world happening. Do ya seriously believe that Guild wizards are the ones who protect the country by themselves? Show some little respect and give us credit, will ya? Nobody insults the code which Tyson Hammer makes a living.", the Major General defended.

"That's... that's really cool and I'm sorry. I may be a wizard but I have no real experience and it's not like any of the famous Guilds would just take a novice off the street. They've probably got admissions and paper files piled up like crazy... and I really need to start earning more Jewels.", Lucy lamented in depression and self-deprecation, believing that she will never get into her dream Guild.

Unknowingly in such an ironic manner however, the blonde woman really had no idea of how _easily_ simple it was to become a member of Fairy Tail just by admitting them and worry about the paperwork as this was the Guild Master's responsibility that she always wanted to be but once again that was in another timeline and universe if only she had met Natsu that day.

"S-so... w-why not come with us Miss Lucy? J-join the Rune Knights. W-we may not be s-somewhat popular career option for all wizards everywhere these days I-I think like many L-legal Guilds ac-cross Fiore but you might get e-experience and e-earn a stable income.", Amber proposed.

Lucy looked unsure of the idea of joining the military wing of the Magic Council, "Is it okay, Amber? Don't the Rune Knights need to have their newest recruits prove themselves somehow?"

"N-nope. All we have to do is enlist and evaluate yourself in a job interview. S-simple as that.", the Colonel answered.

"Oh I see...", the blonde girl muttered.

"Darling, it ain't how we do it in the Rune Knights. Newbies got to start out somewhere to get the know-how after joining the Rune Knights by proper enlistment. Usually they start out as Cadets when they join the ranks and they have to work their way up to top of the food chain after they receive from Rune Knight training and growing their respective Power Level from the MPF device's estimation. Like I said about those Guilds, it's a meritocracy after all. We work our way from the bottom to the top.", Tyson simply shrugged as he adjusted his trucker hat.

"A-after completing the training and g-gaining a rank depending o-on the MPF's results, y-you'll be assigned to your chosen unit, earn money through a high pay salary and get stronger with more proper training. W-we don't care how good you are, o-only that you t-try your best. I-I mean not every wizard gets to join Guilds. T-they c-could join the Fiore Royal Military or even us Rune Knights. Like the Major General said, we were just doing our jobs to ensure the safety and protection of the country.", Amber explained which Lucy absorbed the information and thought about it.

"It's your choice, blondie. We're not forcing you to abandon your dream Guild that ya always wanted to join as you told us a while back there. But it should be you who makes the shots here. Either way, we will still remain friends with favors we each owe each other.", the Major General said, folding his arms.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy had finally made her decision that changed her life forever. "I'm in. So where I do sign up?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Okay then, the first chapter of "The Celestial Rune Knight" is finished and the next chapter will be updated when I have time due to busy schedule in life as usual. Lucy chose to enlist in the Rune Knights and accompanies with Colonel Amber and Major General Tyson back to Era, the city where the headquarters of the Magic Council resides.**

 **Between you readers and me, I feel that the Rune Knights are always generally underappreciated and deserved some justice. I know most Mages would prefer joining Guilds (Legal/Light, Dark and Independent) because they're cool and wanted to have adventures together. But there should be other Mages who joined the Rune Knights because of their sense of justice and wanted to protect the innocent and serve the law.**

 **I mean, if the Rune Knights are meant to protect people and the Magical World from dangers and threats that not Guild mages can handle them by themselves even if their name is Fairy Tail, they have to be strong right? It seems pretty unfair and unrealistic that the Council mainly employ normal soldiers (and not enough women for some reason until Levy in Avatar arc) in their ranks as cannon fodder and cartoony guards.**

 **Lahar and Doranbolt (even though he's actually Mest of Fairy Tail infiltrating the ranks to get info about Alvarez for Makarov) were the only Rune Knights that actually stand out from the rank and file. That even includes Gajeel, Levy and Pantherlily during their time at the new Council run by the Ten Wizard Saints in the one year timeskip after Tartaros arc despite resigning in the end and rejoining Fairy Tail in its revival.**

 **The idea of Lucy being a Rune Knight came from Yukino when she served as Temporary Sergeant of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron under Arcadios and her proper military dress uniform looked pretty formal and cool. Oh, I also plan to bring Yukino into this story as a Rune Knight instead of Sabertooth at some point later on, just not now.**

 **Credits for the inspiration and the OCs goes to draconichero21, the author of Code Geass x Fairy Tail crossover fanfic, "Fairy Without Wings" where he had given the huge case of Adaptational Badass on the Rune Knights during the Guild War arc and lets me borrow all of his Rune Knight OCs that are expys according to him except a certain few of his own he wants to keep them under lock and key, and he means it.**

 **Credits for Stella the Sea Bride goes to Insane Dominator who allowed me to borrow his four OC Ten Wizard Saints from his FT x Pokemon crossover fanfic, "A Contender's Bonds". Check out his story and it's awesome!**

 **Enjoy and don't forget to review. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello there, I'm back everyone on time and the second chapter of "The Celestial Rune Knight" is here as I had this done. Thank you so much guys for the early support and reviews, and it's greatly appreciated. Damn, I never really expected this AU story would garner such interest. Hehehe. It's gonna be totally different. I'm _not_ gonna take over all of the canon arcs and try out original arcs if possible.**

 **Belated Happy New Year 2019 by the way!**

 **Guest: Thank you very much, friend and don't worry, it's here. :D**

 **Thaqif 1: Sorry about that but Mashima may be a really good manga artist in his own right but he does need to work on his flaws of the series. Fix-it Fic doesn't sound like a bad idea. And I'm aware FT is one of the most popular shounen mangas. However Reality Ensues can work on FT's constant tendencies of recklessly destroying properties and potentially endangering lives.**

 **It ain't funny either, it's serious business.** **Despite all the good they have done and the world would have been a goner if it weren't for them which we are all grateful of, Fairy Tail needs to learn the hard way that their way of doing things has _negative consequences_ and will bite them in the ass one way or another.**

 **Thaqif 2: I did notice and it doesn't seem to be a bad idea for One Piece inspirations. Like the Seven Warlords and the Supernovas for example. As for "Path of the Wizard from Alvarez", I will be getting back on it later to revise and edit the chapters.** **Lorgar Aurelian opened my eyes and I looked back on it which I cringed and decided to restart the story from the ground up.**

 **Thaqif 3: Aye, that I will do. I'm kinda getting sick of the typical old and corrupt members of the Magic Council and will have to replace them with fresh boobs, er I mean blood in the new and improved Council perhaps after Tower of Heaven arc where it needs to clean house thanks to betrayal of "Siegrain"/Jellal and Ultear, and the incompetence of the other Council members as it should have.**

 **If the Rune Knights can change, the Council can too as well. Although Org can stay since he's a decent guy and old wise man needed to be around a new roster of younger Councilors, the rest can retire and let the youngsters take over while Yajima can retire and open the 8-Island Restaurant. Michello and Crawford can go to hell. Although at least Crawford had useful Magic with potential for character development while Michello has nothing to offer other than being an insufferable jackass.**

 **Gran Doma, I'm conflicted and still thinking what to make of him as Reasonable Authority Figure instead of following through his dogma against Fairy Tail in his first manga debut. Mashima could have made good use of him instead of just killing him off right when Gran Doma started to become the Reasonable Authority Figure**

 **RandomRuneKnight: Why, thank you my good sir. I hope I do justice for the Rune Knights in this story. XD And yeah you're right about one thing, what's the point of the Rune Knights when crazy strong Mages, as you say, are in Guilds and far outclassed them all in the canon?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters as they belong to Hiro Mashima yours truly.**

 **Enjoy and don't forget to review.** **:D**

* * *

Chapter 2

Arriving at the large city of Era where an old and imposing palace that was made from light blue and white stones which is the main headquarters of the Magic Council situated on top of a giant mountain with no little difficulty of passing by the checkpoint with Tyson and Amber, Lucy Heartfilia finds it beautiful and unlike any other place she has ever ever seen after she made her decision to join the Rune Knights and accompanied Colonel Amber Celadon and Major General Tyson Hammer for enlistment.

The Celestial Spirit Mage couldn't help but feel amazed of the city's elegant and pristine structure as it was sunny out and the light shone down brightly on the buildings and the people bustling within their everyday life. Even the stonework on the streets was refined and artistically put together but not to the point of gaudiness or vanity.

It would be seen and regarded as the symbol of light and beacon of hope and justice in the World of Magic.

According to Amber's helpful information, Era is quintessentially a massive city-size military base so to speak. Barracks all over the entire city, large guard-towers and the likes surrounding the perimeter of the city, Rune Knights and affiliates bustling all throughout the busy streets and corridors, and some small aircraft patrolling the skies at all times.

Fiore is not like other nations such as Pergrande Kingdom or Minstrel for example, so the funding for Era is significantly less than those nations, so the magi-tech is also substantially less impressive. There is more of a focus on raw, magical defenses and incorporation. i.e. Jutsu Shiki barriers that protect the city. Those towers having Lacrimas supercharged with raw magic that can throw bolts of Magic at targets on command.

And according to Tyson, Era houses important officials of the Rune Knights of Fiore, and even those from the branches of Ishgar in some cases. It also houses non-combat personnel of the Rune Knights, a lot of times; family members of higher-ranking officials who live in some of the finest parts of Fiore for essentially free. That is certainly appealing for Lucy as she won't have to rent an apartment once she rose up the ranks which caused a short-looking old lady with an ugly face sneezed indignantly as she wondered who's been talking behind her back.

Traders, businessmen and shop-keepers who are vetted and allowed entry also peddle their wares there, as this is still a city, and despite high security and careful checkpoints, people are allowed to freely enter and leave Era whenever they please.

As for Lucy in the meantime, she decided to come clean and revealed her last name as Heartfilia to the two Rune Knight officers whom she befriended and trusted on their way to Era back then. Even Lucy knows that she might get in trouble with the Council if she didn't told them sooner or later just because she kept her little secret of being a runaway rich girl from her friends.

Tyson whistled in amazement as he adjusted his new trucker hat after learning the revelation, "Wow I plum-gone-damn-done don't see that one comin'. To be perfectly honest, it wasn't that much of a big secret you have there compared our little undercover mission. You definitely do not look like the rich girl type there ta me, blondie."

"Yeah I kinda ran away from home, away from my Dad who didn't care for me when Mom died. All he cares about is his business and marrying me off to some arranged marriage when I come of age which I obviously do not want. Originally I planned to join Fairy Tail but after meeting you guys and coming here to Era,... I guess that plan is rendered moot.", Lucy explained with a sheepish look on her face.

Amber nodded in agreement with a bright smile. "Well, it's important to not withhold information from the Council. You would have gotten into trouble if they had found out the truth after checking your background. You did the right thing Lucy."

"Thanks, Amber. I feel really bad if I didn't tell you and Mr. Tyson the truth about me like you two did back at Hargeon when I thought you were Independent Mages on a freelance job. It just didn't sound fair.", the blonde girl said with a sigh of relief.

Patting her in the back with a bit of force that nearly knocked down Lucy but Amber caught her on time, the trucker hat wearing Major General heartily laughed, "Good point there, darlin'. It really doesn't sound fair if ya didn't tell us about it. No hard feelings! It's not like ya have some super dark secret to hide from the Council that would shake the foundations of the world or something cliche like that. Hahahaha!"

As the three kept walking towards their destination, conversed with one another and purchasing some snacks and water from the vendors they passed by on short stops, Lucy was so sidetracked by Amber's recommendation of good places to eat, Magic shops that sold good quality items unlike other ripoffs, and also checking out Era's library she ended up bumping into something hard and metal.

"Ow!", she hissed in pain with a small bump on her head forming.

"Watch where you're going, little human. You might get hurt.", a smooth mechanical tone voice called out.

Soothing her head that suffered a small bump, the blonde teenager looked up to see a tall and intimidating looking human-like being with blue hair, orange eyes, and has a metal-like body though his left arm is a flamethrower. He also wields a warhammer that also functions like a smithing hammer that was strapped on his back, and wears a tight-fitting blacksmith's attire.

"Meep...", Lucy squeaked in fear of the large being before her.

"Major Gorian. I apologize on my friend's behalf. She didn't mean to bump into you intentionally.", Amber addressed respectfully.

"It is alright, Colonel Amber. From what I can tell, she must be new on Era. It is natural for humans to act such manner when they stepped on this prestigious city here for the first time, am I right?...", Gorian accepted the apology as he assessed the Celestial Spirit Mage analytically and helped her up gently.

"Yup, sonny. She's here to enlist in the Rune Knights. We're leading her to the recruiting station before heading off to report to our superiors in charge.", Tyson explained as he tipped his trucker hat as a greeting.

Eyeing on Lucy still trying to not lose her wits after she got up with his help, Gorian deeply hummed, "A new recruit. Interesting. I'll be looking forward to work with whatever weapons or items you would soon need in the future as a fellow Rune Knight, young human."

"Uh, thanks mister. Looking forward to it.", the blonde woman spoke with a small nervous smile due to how intimidating looking he is. The metallic being nodded in approval before walking away, leaving the three alone and disappeared among the crowd in Era.

"Is that a...", the Heartfilia girl asked in wonder.

"A Machias, blondie. Yes, a race of sentient machines that use Magic and looked like humans too as well to some extent. That one ye bumped yer head into was Gorian Starforge. Known as The Runesmith Knight. From what I know on his profile that Major Gorian was found by the Rune Knights 50 years ago and he volunteered to work in their forges to create a vast arsenal of weaponry and military equipment for its members after he joined the Council. He rarely participates in fights and missions due to his line of work but ain't a slouch if needed.", Tyson explained.

Amber then stated, "His Magic, **Blueprint** allows him to create or reforge all kinds of weapons and equipment after scanning the schematics given to him in order to better grasp it than normal humans, allowing Gorian to upgrade a weapon and recreate broken or missing parts of a ship, making them into great exquisite or practical pieces of work worthy in the Rune Knights. I am very grateful for adding upgrades commission on my Adaptive Magic Pistols, Makuro and Makoto and they work well with my **Guns Magic**."

"Oh, are there other races besides the Machias?", Lucy asked again.

The trucker hat wearing Major General answered, "Well, some few actually. Giants, Lizardmen, Frogmen, Dragonites and Beastmen, etc. Of course ya have not seen them yet but ya will soon enough I promise you that. Right now, we should get you enlisted first, darling."

The Colonel and the Celestial Spirit Mage nodded in agreement. After such bizarre meeting with a mechanical being, the trio had finally reached to their destination, the female Colonel gestured to the large building, "There it is, Lucy. The academy and recruiting station for Rune Knights."

"Wow, it certainly looks amazing.", Lucy can only say when she looked upon the place where Mages enlist in the Council military. It has an elaborate design and color scheme of blue and white on its exterior walls along with two tall statues of armored knights with long halberds and an ankh symbol of the Magic Council on the front door.

"Major General Tyson and Colonel Amber!", a voice called out to them revealing to be a Frogman Messenger that hailed from a race of strange, humanoid creatures, reminiscent of anthropomorphous amphibians, partially covered in spots and they worked for the Council as envoys, guards and magical technicians.

Its uniform consist of a wide-collared dark jacket, with wide sleeves and edges and cuffs adorned by a series of light stripes, over a light shirt, held closed on the front by a multitude of laces ending in a bow knot in the upper part, and a long, light skirt-like cloth covering the legs along with a small, elongated dark hat matching the jacket, which gets larger near its top and has a bow knot remaining in the form of an ornamental ribbon.

The said messenger scurried to the two Rune Knight officers and gave a military salute before holding out letters for each of them. "You two have been summoned to meet with the Chairman Crawford Seam and Grand General Siegfried Karn within 1 hour after you make your reports to Lieutenant Generals Peshkatz Fireman and Phelia Blendy.", it announced before them.

The letters even had an elaborate seal on them, signifying their importance as Tyson and Amber took them and opened to read their contents meant for them. While Lucy can see Amber being her professional self outside her optimistic and timid outlook even without her Magic guns drawn, she could have sworn seeing Tyson briefly displaying a worn look that of a tired soldier on his normally smirking face.

"Right then, tell the higher ups that we are on our way up there ASAP. Understood boy?", the Rune Knight Major General tipped his trucker hat which the Frogman Messenger gave a brief salute again before running off again.

The Rune Knight redneck turned to Lucy, back with his trademark smug smirk as he intends to fly up to the Council HQ with the female gunslinger, "Well see ya later, blondie! Me and Amber are gonna report to our respective superiors about our mission back at Hargeon. We'll be back later. Just make sure you got yourself enlisted and you're good to go for some basic training."

"Good luck Lucy. Don't withhold information from the recruiters when you're next in line. Trust me, they are very thorough at the background checking and they don't take well with newcomers purposely hiding or falsifying information from them when they join the Rune Knights. The Grand General does _not_ tolerate liars and spies among the rank and file in the Council as a part of his policy.", Amber tells her before she bade goodbye with a polite bow.

"Thanks! I'll keep that in mind!", Lucy complied.

Meanwhile in one of the offices at the Council HQ, a certain scar-faced Rune Knight officer and best friend of Lahar loudly sneezed which caused his bundles of paperwork flying much to his dismay, and it didn't help his case when Lahar came in and he was not amused. And in the Fairy Tail guildhall, a certain diminutive old man in a jester's costume sneezed too for some reason and thought he's getting a cold or the place needs some serious dusting after all the mess his "children" had made every time they go on a brawl again.

And finally two certain young Councilors sneezed in the middle of the Council meeting complaining about Fairy Tail's other infamous acts of reckless actions to clean up and recompense the affected, embarrassing themselves before the elderly members who milked it for all its worth.

After watching the young Colonel leaving with the trucker hat wearing Major General who carried her gently in a bridal fashion and flew towards the headquarters of the Magic Council, Lucy gulped a bit and calmed herself down before she made her step into the recruiting station where there is a line of Mages, "Well, here goes nothing..."

* * *

 _At Rune Knights Enlistment Center and Academy_

When it was Lucy's turn to enlist, it wasn't that too long of a process as she thought. She had to indeed give the recruiters her accurate information as Amber advised her and background checking wasn't that long either. They didn't even bat an eye and took it in stride professionally when the runaway heiress shared her last name Heartfilia and Lucy is officially enlisted in the Rune Knights as a Cadet.

After she was done with her enlistment, the Celestial Spirit Mage was assigned by one of the instructors to a building for Cadets and noted there aren't a lot of people inside. It would seem there aren't too many recruits this year that Lucy had noticed. _Oh yeah, Guilds are widely more popular in Fiore and most wizards had shown more interest of a reckless lifestyle in a Guild compared to the Rune Knights. Still, I did not regret my decision of not joining Fairy Tail. It doesn't stop me from thinking what would it be like there if I did not enlist..._ , she thought.

On their way to find Macao lost on Mt. Hakobe, Natsu suddenly made a large flaming sneeze that burned down the whole icy cave in the middle of his fight which hilariously got the Vulcan's ass caught on fire and running around like a headless chicken as it tried stop, drop and roll maneuver. Happy was shocked before he laughed his furry ass off which the Fire Dragon Slayer did admit that it was funny when he saw the results and proceeded to knock it out immediately... only to reveal it was Macao being Taken Over by the Vulcan and his ass is still on fire even after he was free.

Natsu and Happy laughed for an hour as a result before they helped the poor man of his injuries.

Still as he brings Macao home to Magnolia and reunite with his son Romeo, the son of Igneel wonders why he felt odd as if there should be someone he should be bringing them home and join Fairy Tail. He shrugged it off as some fuzzy feeling and headed off to pay respects to Lisanna's grave near their old childhood house where they used to hang around and help with Happy's hatching back in happier times.

When Lucy got assigned to a bunk for six people with her designated room number, she deposited her things which isn't much other than her small luggage she pulls around in her travels and headed off to the training grounds with the other Cadets. Upon entering the said grounds, she saw dozens of young men and women who had also signed up in joining the Rune Knights and are standing around, talking and socializing with one another as they waited for the Rune Knight officers in charge of their training show up.

"New here?", a voice called out next to Lucy and she is a young woman with lavender hair that flows down to her shoulders and hazel eyes with pale skin and an almost permanent smile which seems upbeat and happy. She appears to be in the same age as Lucy and has a decent sized chest but not too big. She wears a white shirt with a knee-length skirt, modesty pants, and traveling shoes.

"Yeah, I am. Nice to meet you, my name is Lucy Heartfilia.", the Celestial Spirit Mage greeted.

"I'm Gloria Palburn. Nice to meet you too as well, Lucy.", the blue-haired teen gave a friendly smile after taking and shaking Lucy's hand.

"Thanks. Wow. Big day for us newbies in the Rune Knights, right?", Lucy chuckled, feeling quite nervous despite its normal atmosphere in the Council training grounds since this is indeed different from joining a Guild and it totally doesn't escalate into big time brawls most of the time if she had seen what Fairy Tail is like.

"Yup. Big day indeed. Can't believe I'm seeing new faces around here!", Gloria cheerfully smiled as she glanced at the recruits all around her at the gathering area. "Uh-oh! Duck!", she shouted when she grabbed Lucy and narrowly avoided a speedy blue teleporting blitz from almost hitting them that would have knocked them into disorientation.

"Sorry about that, luvs. Getting myself a little too excited here. Whoopsie! Hehe.", said a short petite teenage girl with spiked brown hair and wears a skintight jumpsuit with an aviator's jacket, white line stripes and a glowing cylinder chest-piece. Lucy could wonder what kind of Magic Item she is wearing and it is certainly beautiful from the looks of it.

"Hi there! My name's Lucy Heartfilia. What's yours?", Lucy said with an extension of her hand to another new friend.

Eagerly shaking a hand of a new friend she made, the brunette Cadet with googles said with a flirty wink, "Elena Theobold at your service, luv! Lucy Heartfilia, quite a cute name you got there."

"Yeah, thanks.", Lucy feeling kinda bashful at such compliment from such bold and confident looking fellow Cadet.

"Aw, don't worry about that luv! We're all friends here! Oh I'm from Caelum Kingdom by the way! Immigrant to be exact. Got myself enlisted and shipped off to Era to get trained here!", Elena reassured with peppy smile and looked at the small numbers of Cadets as she somberly noted. "Too bad we don't too get too many Mages joining the Rune Knights here around while Guilds snagged them left and roight... The world could always use more heroes."

Lucy can sense some hint of sadness from the brunette about the state of the Council's military as she thought, _Were the Rune Knights looked down upon like that? That's really mean. Mr._ _Tyson did say that Guild Mages aren't the only ones protecting Fiore and no one disses the code of the Council too as well. I kinda feel sorry for them. It must be a thankless job and they take them for granted._

Gloria nodded sadly with Elena, "I agree, the Rune Knights are so overshadowed by the Guilds in Fiore almost as if they don't matter at all and thought to be complete jokes. Guild Mages being public celebrities hogging all the attention to themselves and only did good deeds just for the fame and fortune it brings them..." She then extended her hand to Elena, "Before I forget, the name's Gloria Palburn."

Taking her hand and shook it, Elena cheerfully noted and grabbed the two to come with her, "Pleasure to meet you as well. Name's Elena Theobold and don't you forget it luv. Before I forget, meet my other new friends. She is not much of a talker but she is a nice lass. The bloke on the other hand got good music and he is an archer. Like Robin Hood and his Merry Men!"

Elena introduced Lucy and Gloria to a young woman with pale blonde hair and black highlights, and amber eyes, and has a Rune Magic-engraved metal brace on her left arm and she wears a loose suit with tie and pants. She seemed quite somber and adjusting to her new position after joining the ranks of the Council's military. While the young man with tangerine hair is wearing a garb that of a medieval archer yet he carries a ukulele alongside his bow and arrows, and he seems pretty normal looking among them.

Lucy could have sworn seeing some strands of white hair on him as if it looked like his hair was dyed.

"I'm Ashley Aurora. Nice to meet you.", she introduced herself with a soft-spoken voice.

"My name is Alaric Cain. Part-time bard and archer at your service, miladies.", he said in a polite manner with a bow.

After Lucy and Gloria introducing themselves, they have gotten along quite fine after they just met and it will take time to know each other better once they have the time for it, becoming a part of the crowd's socializing atmosphere. Of course that will be another story for another time when everyone hit the bunks for the night and we will get to see them getting to know each other.

Overhearing an announcement with loud gong bell-like sound, the four girls and a boy noticed that the Frog Messenger in robes has appeared after having gathered attention to the audience of recruits. "May I have your attention, please? Thank you. As for now, all Cadets must cease all social activity at once. Your trainers will be arriving shortly."

Almost immediately on cue, the officers of the Rune Knights were spotted as they've entered the field and assessing the batch of new recruits standing before them.

"Well, look at these new people here, Tina. Fresh meat to the grinder.", amusingly commented a young man in his mid 20s with a short, slim build, bowl-cut-length black hair and thin, blue eyes with two gold hoop earrings. He wears an orange bandanna around his neck on his proper Rune Knight officer's uniform like Lahar with another belt with a gun holster and another pouch.

Rolling her eyes, the female Rune Knight officer smacked him behind the head, "Can it, Chase. We're here to train them, not make them your personal punching bags. Bad joke by the way. Very poor taste."

She is a slender, curvy, and beautiful woman of above-average height and fair complexion with pony-tailed blonde hair that parts over her left temple, which she generally keeps tucked behind her ears where they small gold hoop earrings, and wore the same proper uniform just like her twin brother except she has a knee length skirt and pants.

"Eh, no pain, no gain sis. Besides like you're one to talk about me making these newbies personal punching bags. We can ride on the high horse all day long.", Chase shrugged after rubbing his head with Tina feeling an unconscious tick on her eye at his smartass remark.

A deep booming voice from a bulky heavy suit of full plate armor that has the symbol of the Council on its breastplate with a plumed feather on its helm whose eyes glow golden sternly chastised them, "Enough of the foolish banter, you two. After this is over, I'm doubling your training schedule and the beating of your asses shall be thorough and merciless. No pain, no gain right?"

The Connors twins cringed, "Yes, Captain Brosnan..."

"Don't be so stiff all the time Brosnan. You ain't Lahar you know. Besides what would Mason think of you when he sees you like this. Even Giants are not that dense.", the black haired older woman in her 40s who also wears the similar uniform like Amber Celadon albeit with some finger-less gauntlets of a blue-grey leathery material covered in shiny steel stud teasingly remarked.

"S-shut up Bella!", Brosnan shouted back almost in a flustered tone, which sounded quite feminine despite the voice for some reason.

"Always play the denial card huh tough guy? If it weren't for the fact you chose to wear that bulky looking armor for intimidation purposes, I'd say you're compensating for something.", prodded the purple haired young woman in her early 20s who wears a custom Rune Knight uniform that looked like a spysuit with a coat cape draped on her shoulders.

Brosnan growled at the woman's cheeky jab with his eyes glowing dangerously golden ready to to fire, "Kerrigan..."

Kerrigan made a playful face with a raspberry at the armored giant and only stopped when Bella gave her a dope slap, scolding her as if she was a child.

"Rune Knights are weird...", Ashley murmured, looking confused about the situation with a sweatdrop. Lucy, Gloria and Elena and Alaric, and pretty the rest of the Cadets share the same feeling at the display shown of their trainers.

After calming down and meeting the newcomers, Brosnan announced to the group of Council enlistees as his eyes glowed golden, "Greeting Cadets, my name is Captain Brosnan and I'm the one training you greenhorns into full fledged Rune Knights. My associates here, Majors Chase and Tina Connors, Captain Kerrigan Campbell and Division Commander Bella Rust will be overseeing your training. Prepare to be pushed to the breaking limit and surpass that. You may be a small batch of recruits this year. But that does not mean things will be easy for all of you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!", they all shouted. Every single Cadet including Lucy and her new friends understood this and they are gonna learn from their trainers to be the next generation of Rune Knights.

All except one unfortunately...

"Wait, wait, wait! Let me get this straight here! So we're gonna start out training as Cadets, right?", questioned a young man with brown hair and single cowlick sticking out and drooping on one side. He wears a hunting jacket, a beige sweater over a gray t-shirt, black jeans and leather boots, and wields a a medium-sized shortsword sheathed behind his back.

And the guy had just dramatically jumped out of the crowd of Rune Knight enlistees and made a superhero landing before the trainers.

"Oh no...", Gloria can only say in exasperation.

"This is not gonna end well isn't it?", Lucy rhetorically asked.

"Yup.", Ashley answered with a deadpanned look.

"The poor bloke is in for it now...", Elena said.

"Even I am not that dumb to do such a thing.", Alaric said.

Tina snarked at such an obvious question and the ballsy move made by the insubordinate Cadet, "No shit Sherlock. All the new recruits enlisted in the Rune Knights are required to undergo basic combat training to know the ropes here. And what do you mean by that, kid? You think you're special?"

"Hell yeah I am! I'm not starting from the bottom to get to the top! I'm way too good for that!", the brunette young man shouted in declaration and unsheathed his shortsword in blatant display of potential aggression and showing off like a complete amateur that prompted some of the Cadets to brandish their weapons or Magic to defend themselves and also their friends.

"Uh oh, looks like we got a cocky greenhorn here sis.", Chase commented with a snicker as he approached him casually with his hands on his pockets and asked. "What's your name kid?"

The young man boldly declared himself in an arrogant manner, "Tetsuo Kogami, sir and I'm a very skilled swordsman. I also have Wyvern Soul as my Takeover! A very powerful Wyvern! With my awesome sword skills and my strongest Takeover Soul, I can easily be Captain in the Rune Knights! I do not need to do this stupid training."

Lucy and her new friends and the Cadets pretty much facepalmed in embarrassment of Tetsuo's poor opinion of himself.

"Tut, tut. The poor boy thinks this is like a Guild. But even Guilds don't give high ranks to their own members that easily as they have S-Class Trials of their own to judge their worth.", Bella shook her head at his foolish naivety.

"This is gonna be good.", Kerrigan giggled with rubbing on her hands, acting like a giddy kid or playing the cartoony villain for the heck of it.

"That's cute. By the way, thanks for volunteering. Captain Golden Eyes here will want to see if you're all bark and no bite. Unless you prove us wrong, then show us what you can do, kid.", the Connor twin brother cheekily said and right on cue, the heavily armored knight stood before the upstart Cadet without his large greatsword drawn for Tetsuo is not worthy of using his blade on him.

With that, the poor schmuck took the bait: hook line and sinker, and he is the first in line to face Captain Brosnan and prove his worth to be promoted by besting one of the high ranking Rune Knights with everything he got.

...Aaaand then he did not last within 5 seconds when he made the first move with his shortsword quicker than a normal eye can see towards the armored behemoth, thinking the big guy is slow and easy to take down.

Tetsuo Kogami, the guy who thought he could be Rune Knight Captain without needing the basic standard training, was knocked out flat on his ass in the personal crater with his body twitching and a massive comedic bump on his head while Brosnan stood there, looking unimpressed of the recruit's bravado which he paid dearly for it now that the Pecking Order has been established.

Brosnan just used Karate Chop on Tetsuo.

It is Super Effective.

Kerrigan laughed out loud in amusement and rolled down on the ground while the Connors twins winced at the Golden Eyes' lack of mercy but feels the newbie deserved it for being an overconfident loudmouth and Bella feels sorry for him, hoping he has learned his valuable lesson.

"Now that is settled. Any volunteers?", the armored giant rhetorically asked which all sweatdropping Cadets quickly shook their heads and refused after they saw what he had done to Tetsuo without even trying at all. "Good, now form up squads in accordance with the designation room number you are assigned and you will find your future teammates among you."

Starting now, the Rune Knight trainees then looked up to their respective numbers and they formed teams after finding those individuals with the same number together especially when they already made friends with even before the arrival of the Rune Knight trainers.

"WHAT?!", Lucy and her fellow teammates: Gloria, Elena, Ashley and Alaric were shocked with a jawdrop and surprised looks on their faces that the unconscious Tetsuo is also their new teammate too as well when Bella checked his room number from his pockets and it matches with their own. _Oh crapbaskets, we're stuck with this guy..._ , they thought in horror.

* * *

 _Meanwhile at the Magic Council Headquarters_

After arriving on top of the giant mountain where the Council HQ is situated via flying thanks to the Rune Knight redneck, Amber Celadon and Tyson Hammer entered the premises with the letters to the receptionist and split off to meet with their respective superior officers on separate offices before heading off to meet the Chairman of the Council and the Grand General of the Rune Knights themselves.

On that office, Tyson entered after knocking and formally addressed his superior with a military salute. "Major General Tyson Hammer, reporting in!"

Peshkatz Fireman is an older well-built man in his 30s with a gruff beard, amber eyes, tanned skin, an old fashioned samurai topknot hairstyle, a couple of scars that accented the side of his temples as well as his right arm devoid of any cloth, and wears an old fashioned yukata of a very musty yellow green with his left arm was even rested inside his clothes as though it were a sling.

Of course, he has his own standard officer's uniform to wear and has basic Requip to do so alongside his own signature weapon made from Stella only on formal meetings with the Council and mission time on the field. But ever the dashing rogue he is well known in his life, Peshkatz didn't feel like it and prefers to wear his casual clothing on office time much to Lahar's chagrin towards the quirky elites of the Rune Knights.

"At ease, Major General. So what'cha got for me? Any good news and bad news from your little infiltration mission with Colonel Amber at Hargeon lately?", the gruff man informally addressed his subordinate.

"Well, the good news is that Bora the Prominence had been found and apprehended with the slave girls freed and all evidence of his slave trade with Bosco had been collected enough for his life sentence in jail... And the bad news is that Hargeon got themselves a new crater nearby from my little skirmish. The folks of Hargeon might make it their new swimming pool if they want to make it as a resort.", the Council redneck explained with a cheeky look which Peshkatz made a hearty laugh of his subordinate's witty report.

"Good one there, Tyson. Despite your unorthodox street-smart methods, you sure make the best results more effectively and efficiently. If only we got more guys like you in the Rune Knights, we would not be all stuck ups like Lahar the workaholic following the rules always by the book. They're more like guidelines to me anyway.", the older Lieutenant General commented with a grin.

Tyson made a mock gasp dramatically in response, "But that makes me one of a kind, sir. I will lose that status quo which has made me unique and lovable if there are more guys like your friendly neighborhood me."

"Sure, sure don't lose your hat there.", Peshkatz laughed it off before calming down and asked, "So is there anything else?"

"Just one. Colonel Amber and I got ourselves a new recruit for the Rune Knights. Lucy Heartfilia. Celestial Spirit Mage.", Tyson answered.

Raising his eyebrow with amusement of the report from the trucker hat redneck, the high-ranking Rune Knight officer said, "I see. Guess 13 should be your lucky number. Still, good job. Not only you and Colonel Amber apprehended Bora but also convinced a Mage that summoned spirits with those keys to join the Council. Impressive. Can't wait to see Brosnan whip her into shape and learning not to rely too much on her trinkets."

"Welp, now that is plum-gone-dad-gum settled. I better get going to meet with the Grand General and the Chairman. Can't keep them waiting. See ya!", the Major General said with a salute and heads off to the exit.

"Dismissed. Oh and Tyson try not to lose control of yourself like you did back 13 years ago. I really hate to do what I must. For our sakes...", the samurai-themed Lieutenant General called out off-handedly with a hint of seriousness when Tyson was about to open the doorknob and looked he wanted to squish it like a metal tomato.

The silver-haired older man lowered his face darkening in shame and remorse but the trucker hat covered it. "I know, sir. I went too far hurting my own team on a rampage on that day and nearly kissed my job goodbye behind bars.", he softly said before opening the door and left to wait for Amber and meet with the Chairman and the Grand General.

 _Man, I feel like an ass but it had to be done._ _That infamous incident with Sibir the Strongarm, one of Fiore's most wanted criminals in the Underworld 13 years ago. It happened when Tyson's **Burst Magic** went berserk on Strongarm and his gang during a botched Rune Knight raid operation to capture them and bring them to justice. I don't really know what exactly happened when I arrived on time but I saw him standing over the broken bodies of his teammates and Sibir's men whom he brutalized with immense abhorrence. Even Golden Eyes Brosnan and Silversmith Alethia could not contain him despite their best efforts. I acted accordingly to put him down hard and fast with **Nullification Magic** before he causes more damage and hurt more civilians. It wasn't easy to take him down in his berserker form but I was in charge of him as his superior officer for a reason._ , Peshkatz thought as he winced at the phantom inches of his scars on his toned body and the prosthetic arm that is made of metal that was concealed with synthetic skin.

The weary Lieutenant General sighed and got up from his seat and poured some wine on the glass as he drank it one gulp and put it down, _Because of that, Tyson Hammer was known as the "Blue Berserker" and those who fight him in that state don't live to tell the tale. Of course no one in the present would believe the jolly trucker hat loving redneck would be that same guy and put two and two together. I will not be surprised if Sibir will rear his ugly mug soon and Tyson will finish what he started and avenge himself. Oh well, time to see the new members recently enlisted, and see if they have promise or not._ , he finished.

Deciding to stretch his legs and get out of the office, Peshkatz shuffled his completed paperwork on his desk and headed off to the Rune Knight training grounds to see the new recruits especially the one Tyson had mentioned for himself. After all, he will milk all the fun of scaring the crap out of wannabe gloryhounds and cocky greenhorns every single time when he knocks them off their high horses.

On the other office, Amber also entered after knocking and addressed her superior with a military salute. "Colonel Amber Celadon, reporting in!"

Phelia Blendy is a fair-skinned woman in her 20s with shoulder-length pink hair in ponytail style and blue eyes, and wears another standard type Rune Knight officer's uniform that has white long coat over a black colored top that reached to the top of the upper thigh, a utility belt, white study combat pants that allows free movement and thigh high black combat boots along with white gloves and has armband on her right hand.

"At ease, Colonel. So how's the mission?", Phelia asked with a warm smile to her cute little subordinate.

The female gunslinger answered dutifully, "It went well, ma'am. Major General Tyson and I found Bora on Hargeon and arrested him after getting his butt whooped quickly by the Major General. I, on the other hand, helped free the girls enslaved in Bora's ship and tied up his goons already knocked out by my partner. And we also have a new recruit joining us after she met and helped us."

"I see. Good job, Colonel. You seem to have a knack of hitting two birds with one stone. Got the infamous slave trader arrested and recruited a future Rune Knight at the same time.", Phelia complimented the petite girl with a motherly smile much to the latter's bashfulness. "I know you have an appointment with the Grand General and the Chairman, so I won't waste your time here. You're dismissed."

"Yes ma'am!", Amber saluted with a bright smile and made herself out to meet up with Tyson so they will go meet with the heads of the Council and its military organization.

After Amber left Phelia's office and headed off with her partner, a young woman with pale skin, and short blue hair in a regular Rune Knight officer's uniform entered and formally saluted to the female Lieutenant General. "Lieutenant Lulu reporting in.", she said.

"At ease. Lieutenant. Give me status update.", Phelia asked, knowing what she is asking for.

Lulu nodded and handed over the files and pics to the older Blendy. "Yes, ma'am. According to recent finding through the Council intelligence with the help of the Etherion's satellite mode, we have located your missing sister last seen on the port town of Cedar accompanied by a giant rat and bought supplies before we traced her which leads them to... Galuna Island. We also detected strange Magical energy happening on that island every night. It may be possibly linked to this Cold Emperor and his band of cultists being the cause of it.", she explained with a hint of familiarity of that island.

"I see. You're dismissed. Return to your duties, Lieutenant. Thank you.", the older Blendy ordered with a small smile which the female Rune Knight saluted and exited her office, leaving her alone to look through the recent findings regarding her missing sister and rumors about the so-called Cold Emperor and his cult of personality that had garnered attention due to three missing Lamia Scale Mages joining him.

Standing to glance through the window of her office where she can see the whole view of Era, Phelia thought quite agitated with her gloved hands clenching and threatening to explode her Magical aura when it comes to her missing sister, _Why are there on Galuna Island, Sherry? You have gone missing since I last saw you in my visit to Lamia Scale. Once I get permission from my mentor Alethia among the four Generals or even the Grand General himself to go to Galuna Island with my forces, Stella the Bride and her fleet or even myself if I had to, I will drag you back home kicking and screaming, and demand to know why did you abandon little Chelia alone, one way or another!_

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Lulu walked down the hallway and when she briefly passed by the reflective mirror, it showed a blue-skinned Demon with large prominent teeth, sharp eyes, pointy ears and a pointy chin in the same uniform of the Magic Council. "Finally, justice long overdue for my home Galuna Island has come at last...", she said with a vindictive smile.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well, the second chapter of "The Celestial Rune Knight" is done and will get back to you with another update when I have time again and dealing with my other yet to update stories of mine. Man, that was tiring and it's certainly worth it. Lucy has officially joined the Rune Knights as a Cadet and met her new teammates, and their training is just the beginning.** **I will also have to expand more on the relationship between Lucy and her new Rune Knight Cadet teammates: Gloria Palburn, Elena Theobold, Ashley Aurora, Alaric Cain and unfortunately Tetsuo Kogami on the next chapter. I might also bring in Eve Tearm too as well since it's stated that he was part of the Rune Knight and joined Blue Pegasus as one of the Trimen after the Council collapsed post-Tower of Heaven crisis.**

 **Originally I wanted Lucy to keep her last name a secret when she signs up in the Rune Knights, however I realized it would be unrealistic because the higher ups in the Magic Council might run some background checks on their new members joining and Lucy would get in trouble for it. Of course we all know of Siegrain/Jellal and Ultear who had managed to infiltrate the Magic Council and rose up to become its esteemed Councilors before they revealed their true colors in the Tower of Heaven arc.**

 **Same goes for Mest Gryder when he infiltrated the Council and rose up as Rune Knight Doranbolt under Makarov's orders to find information about the Alvarez Empire. For me in the meantime, I will never see him as Mest Gryder of Fairy Tail for he will always be Doranbolt of the Rune Knights and best buddy of Lahar to me. It did not help that Mashima could not make up his mind on where his real allegiance lies and made it all too headache inducing.**

 **Either way, Lucy cannot pull that off like the three had done successfully. Besides Lucy coming out clean early might probably save her the trouble of the Phantom Lord arc coming soon or maybe not depending on this story's direction. Who knows? Dun, dun, dun, duuuunnn! ;)**

 **Thanks to Eden's Zero, Mashima's new series after Fairy Tail, I have some new** **interesting story material to make good use of for this story and also other stories of mine like "A Girl and the Machias", "Fairies and Sins" and "Fairy's Sin" which that I will be dealing in overhaul with big time after the big reveals from the Taizai manga.**

 **I also plan on using some of the villains from Rave Master for my stories especially here too as well. Kinda wished there was a new Rave Master anime series like in the Fairy Tail X Rave Master OVA after the last one got cancelled with 50+ episodes from the 90s.**

 **Credits for the OCs, ideas and inspiration goes to Lorgar Aurelian, Isane Dominator,** **sleepingfairy28** **and draconichero21. Please, check out their stories and support them. They're awesome to read by the way. XD** **And c** **redits for the OCs in this chapter as Cadets goes to Lord of the Roses, author of FT OC Guild story "Lunar Knights". Check out his story and support him too as well. It's really good and one of the rare FT OC Guild stories that you can enjoy reading it.**

 **Enjoy and don't forget to review.** **:D**


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